In the discussions around academic bullying often undergraduate and graduate students, junior group leaders, as well as junior and senior professors are in the focus. Nevertheless, non-academic staff, including laboratory technicians, workshop staff, support staff, and administrative staff are reportedly subjected to bullying in academic organizations (e.g. universities and research institutes). Most probably the major trigger in this regard is that the non-academic staff, despite their essential and undeniable role in maintaining the functionality of the organizations, are regarded as “inferior” by their academic colleagues. Compared to the studies focusing on bullying among academic staff, very little to no systematic research is conducted to specifically address the problematic treatments of non-academic professional staff in academic organizations.
Workplace Bullying is a serious issue among academic surgeons: A recently published Letter in JAMA Surgery indicates a high prevalence of workplace bullying among academic surgeons in the US. The authors indicate power differential as well as the common culture of acceptance and code of silence as the main factors for the occurrence of workplace bullying among surgeons and provide statistical insights about ist prevalence and barriers to its eradication. According to this research, based on the questionnaire filled by a total of 775 respondents (residents and professors), 59 residents (39.9%) and 212 faculty (40.0%) reported being bullied, and 83 residents (58.5%) and 283 faculty (54.3%) witnessed bullying. Fear of retaliation and negative consequences were pinpointed by the authors as the main reasons for the lack of reporting. Reference: doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2020.0263
In another study within medical universities, C Björklund et al. reported “lack of support, low control, inconsistent role demands, poor leadership, poor organizational climate, high sickness absence, and high sickness presence“ as early stage predictors of future bullying in an academic setting. Reference: doi: 10.1080/03075079.2020.1729114
In the article “Address faculty bullying with these strategies“ by L. Hollis, an Associate Professor in the Community College Leadership Program at Morgan State University in Maryland, Prof. Hollis lists strategies and suggestions to collectively address workplace bullying on campus as a less stressful and time-consuming procedure than a public lawsuit. Reference: doi: 10.1002/dap.30710
And last but not the least, Prof. Mahmoudi and his colleagues at ParityMovement published series of notes regarding legal aspects of academic bullying (The absence of legal remedies following academic bullying. Reference: doi: 10.34172/bi.2020.08), How the conventional academic ranking can cause bullying (The urgent need for modification of scientific ranking indexes to facilitate scientific progress and diminish academic bullying. Reference: doi: 10.15171/bi.2019.30), and How the current unprecedented circumstances may increase the bullying rate in academia (COVID-19 pandemic may fuel academic bullying. Reference: doi: 10.34172/bi.2020.17).